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Gigabyte intros next-gen USB and SATA-equipped motherboards

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On October 28, 2009, 1:06 PM

Gigabyte has joined Asus in the race to build motherboards equipped with USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s connectivity, introducing an entire P55-based lineup sporting the next-generation I/O technology. The company has brought a host of new motherboards to the table, including the GA-P55A-UD6, GA-P55A-UD5, GA-P55A-UD4P, GA-P55A-UD4,GA-P55A-UD3P, GA-P55A-UD3R, GA-P55A-UD3.

This series of boards can be easily distinguished by the "P55A" branding, as opposed to the company's previous "P55" boards -- they also feature "Gigabyte 333 onboard acceleration." The "333" refers to the onboard third-gen SATA and USB parts, as well as USB 3.0's new voltage profile, which Gigabyte says offers triple the power to external devices.
With seven listed units, Gigabyte likely has most budgets and builds covered. All of the boards support Intel's recent Lynnfield (Core i5 and i7 8xx) LGA 1156 processors. The motherboards rely on NEC's uPD720200 chip for USB 3.0, and Marvell's 88SE9128 controller for 6Gbps SATA, and bring the expected features and in-house technologies.

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User Comments: 36

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  1. Is there any word on AMD AM3 boards with USB 3.0 support? I just had to swap out my AM2+ board for a new one but I was dissapointed that there wasn't any USB 3.0 boards yet. Intel boards were also the first with USB 2.0 ports as well.

  2. Glad to see Gigabyte getting in on the USB 3 & new SATA. Both my computers I have right now I built with Gigabyte boards and love them.

    Hmmm wonder how affordable this all will be come tax return time next year might have to upgrade my system .

  3. That is nice. Maybe we`ll not see the pricing get to high. Especially from Gigabyte. Intel is delaying the supporting chipset anyway but it would have been nice if we had USB 3.0 and Sata 3 until Christmas

  4. it's funny how that many of these boards with usb 3.0 and SATA are actually P55 and not X58. I would expect X58 to be more high end to include more of these new technologies. I guess for manufacturers, they make more money or sell more of the p55 chipset based boards.

  5. with intel postponing usb 3.0 the adoption rate will be really slow. It's best to wait until intel supports usb 3.0 because right now it's only an expensive accessory. It might take a few good years until usb 2.0 devices will be replaced by 3.0 ones (4-5 years?). It's best to buy a cheaper one with only 2.0 support and buy a new motherboard in 2 years 9the prices will also drop a lot). Also it's best to wait until they sort out the bugs that might appear.

    But all i said above depends on how fast(or slow) new usb 3.0 devices appear.

    PS: The new sata is going to be needed soon because SSD's are starting to become really fast and sata 2 isn't going to be enough anymore.

  6. great info and opinions. i'm another one who is very interested in when AMD willl be part of this picture. is it likely that Gigabyte will follow up with AMD boards with these features sometime fairly soon? Do they have a history of doing things that way?

  7. I wonder how this board deals with the bandwidth , did they add a PLX PEX8613 chip into the mix like Asus did? allowing for a better throughput.

    On a side note about the tech Asus has just released an extension card supporting PCI-E x4 that has two sata 6gbps and 2 usb 3.0 suspected at 30 bux

  8. I think i will wait for Light Peak. USB 3.0 may become the Beta to Light Peak's VHS.

  9. When will we be able to purchase a USB card in the States, to add to our current AMD motherboards, and a eSata/USB 3 hard drive toaster/adapter?

    The add in cards are good for the Desktop system, but what is happening in the Laptop/Notebook arena, all the holiday pipelines are full of USB 2.0 units, are they going to linger in shops while gift-givers and recipients wait for the USB 3 units...

    Feel that USB 3.0 is going to turn the Device market upside down... A printer that will finally cancel a print job immediately could be a good change, think that will be possible with the USC 3.0 communications speeds?

    JR

  10. Does anyone know if there will be a PCI/PCI-E option for such USBs?

    Such power will eliminate the need for external power supplies for USB devices. I like it!

    waiting....

  11. Wow, this "333 onboard acc." idea is fantastic! If I should buy a motherboard, I'd take one of these!

    Core i7, Sata 6Gb/s technology, eight SATA ports, two eSATA, 6xDDR3, USB 3 !!!! Scalable without bottlenecks!

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